Reinhard Neul

Micromachined Angular Rate Sensors for Automotive Applications

Micromachined angular rate sensors are key elements in several automotive systems, thus enabling highly sophisticated applications like rollover detection and mitigation, navigation systems, electronic stability program, and other future vehicle stabilizing and dynamics control systems. New automotive systems are demanding higher accuracy, better signal-to-noise ratio, higher robustness and insensitivity against external perturbations, better system availability and reliability, as well as easy application of the gyros. This paper is presenting the recent development, now the third generation, of micromachined angular rate sensors at Robert Bosch GmbH. Mass production was started in spring 2005. These surface micromachined gyroscopes exhibit outstanding performance compared to similar designs, especially in term of resolution, noise, and insensitivity against external perturbations

New surface micromachined angular rate sensor for vehicle stabilizing systems in automotive applications

Current developments in vehicle dynamics control systems and future advanced high performance vehicle stabilizing systems demand higher performance of the inertial signals of the vehicles dynamics, especially the angular rate signals: higher accuracy and better signal to noise ratio, high signal refresh rates, higher robustness and insensitivity against external interference, higher system availability and reliability, easier applicability (e.g. additional measuring axes). This paper presents a third generation angular rate sensor cluster MM3.x suitable for high volume production, meeting those demands. Design concepts of the core component - the new angular rate sensor module SMG - are unveiled, giving it outstanding functional performance compared to similar surface micromachined gyroscopes.

A modeling approach to include mechanical microsystem components into the system simulation

For MEMS devices modern technologies are used to integrate very complex components and subsystems closely together. Due to mixed-domain problems as well as the occurring interactions between the closely coupled system components the design is a sophisticated process. The interactions between the MEMS components have to be analysed by system simulation already in an early design stage. In this paper a modeling approach is introduced that enables the incorporation of mechanical microsystem components into the system simulation using network and system simulators like SABER. The approach is based on multi-terminal models of basic mechanical elements and their composition to more complex microsystems. First results for a micromechanical resonator are presented.

Micromachined gyros for automotive applications

Micro machined gyros are key elements in several automotive systems, thus enabling highly sophisticated applications like roll over detection and mitigation, navigation systems, electronic stability program (ESP) and other future vehicle stabilizing and dynamics control systems. New automotive systems are demanding higher accuracy, better signal to noise ratio, higher robustness and insensitivity against external perturbations, better system availability and reliability as well as easy application of the gyro. This paper is presenting the recent development, now the third generation of micromachined angular rate sensors at Robert Bosch GmbH. Mass production was started in spring 2005. These surface micromachined gyroscopes exhibit outstanding performance compared to similar designs

Sensor measuring principles

There is a great number of sensors at work in motor vehicles. They act as the sensory organs of the vehicle and convert input variables into electrical signals. These signals are used in control and regulation functions by the control units in the engine-management, safety and comfort and convenience systems. Various measuring concepts are applied, depending on the task.